Online matchmaking, a hope for millions of unmarried Chinese

Beijing, Jan 2: Faced with growing family pressure to get married, youngsters in China are increasingly turning to matrimonial alliance websites in a bid to find out a suitable life partner through online search.

Li Fei, 28, is one such person who daily logs on to the online dating platform NetEase Huatian. Hoping to find his ideal life partner, he chats with young women online, and sends online messages to those he’s interested in.

“I’m still looking for my true love. I get many messages once I post something interesting on my profile. I realised it’s not so difficult to make friends online,” says Li, an engineer from Beijing.

With the development of matchmaking sites on the Internet, more and more Chinese are turning to such websites since these enables them to filter the requirements for their ideal partner, China Daily reported.

“I have more choices online and feel more relaxed. Huatian is more suitable for young people,” said Zhang Xiaomo, 26, a magazine editor from Beijing. “Compared with other sites, the services are all free, and I don’t feel like I am a merchandise for sale.”

Like others, she often uploads her pictures, writes down her feelings, and browses to see whether there are suitable young men.

She gets many online messages and chats with some of them. “Even if some are not suitable as lovers, we can still be friends,” she says.

In December 2012, Nasdaq-listed Jiayuan.com Ltd published a report about Marriage Values among Young Chinese together with the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

It said there were 249 million unmarried Chinese above the age of 18, and men were more anxious than women to get into dating, relationship and marriage.

According to Wan Qi, product manager of NetEase Huatian, the criteria for most is not just about whether the potential mate has the right jobs and properties, but also to observe similar lifestyle and values.